Is Taco Bell Ditching Yet Another Beloved Menu Item? - TheStreet

2022-06-10 21:56:02 By : Mr. James Huang

Yum Brands  (YUM) - Get Yum! Brands Inc. Report  darling Taco Bell lately is not having the best time trying to keep its customers happy.

After discontinuing the Mexican Pizza in 2020 and claiming that the reason was the waste cause by the packaging, the chain made a big show of bringing it back in 2022.

It even went so far as to hire Doja Cat to promote it and to pen an entire TikTok musical dedicated to it, hyping the event weeks before the meal was again available on menus.

Strangely, after all the fanfare about eliminating waste back in 2020, the packaging was unchanged when the Mexican Pizza returned. TheStreet contacted Taco Bell for comment regarding the matter and did not get a reply.

But as TheStreet reported in late May, Taco Bell made the decision to pull the Mexican Pizza only a few weeks after its illustrious reentrance on the food scene, first canceling the musical via Twitter, then finally making an official announcement on May 31.

Customers were less than thrilled about the announcement, with many wondering why the ingredients were to blame when the only unique one was the Mexican Pizza shell.

In the meantime, Taco Bell has rolled merrily forward as if nothing untoward happened, showing off its new Brisk Dragon Paradise Sparkling Iced Tea and its fancy new Taco Bell Defy concept restaurant in Brooklyn Park, Minn.

While it attempts to keep its customers dazzled, however, it's quietly rolling out plans on taking another classic menu item away for good.

It's sad to say that after 10 years on the menu, the Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze is on its way out.

After several past instances of trying to order it and being told it was not available or that the machine was broken, on June 8 an employee at my local Taco Bell in Smyrna, Ga., confirmed that the classic frozen drink would not be coming back.

"It's being phased out," he said, "but a frozen mango flavor will be replacing it."

This could potentially be a frozen version of the chain's Brisk Mango Fiesta, which can currently be ordered on the menu as a regular drink but is not currently offered in a frozen version.

Members of the Taco Bell sub on Reddit also mentioned that the drink seemed to be disappearing from their local menus.

Based on location, the Baja Blast Freeze can still be found on Taco Bell's website and in its app and can be ordered. But that seems to be temporary until stores run out of it.

A PR representative for Taco Bell replied to TheStreet's inquiry and said that the Frozen Baja Blast is not being discontinued.